Original Prankster
by Ordinary Insanity
Summary: Not every role holder was mentioned in the original story of Alice and her adventures in Wonderland; some were simply not important. A thief and street magician like Skylar is a prime example. As she runs from not only her role, but angry role holders and faceless, gunshots, snowballs and even rogue pastries, the young girl encounters many people and situations, both good and bad.
1. Lost

**Summary: **Not every role holder was mentioned in the original story of Alice and her adventures in Wonderland; some were simply not important. A thief and street magician like Skylar is a prime example. As she runs from not only her role, but angry role holders and faceless, gunshots, snowballs and even rogue pastries, the young girl encounters many people and situations, good, bad and everywhere in between. No pairing yet, but it'll probably end up being Skylar and Boris or Skylar and Joker.

**Author's Note:** This is my first Heart no Kuni no Alice fanfiction, so I hope it's alright. I've seen a lot of HnKnA OC fanfiction in which there's a new outsider, but not nearly as much where there's a new role holder. Or perhaps I just haven't read enough to find it. Either way, I really hope this is okay; I'm going to do my best not to make Skylar a Mary Sue, but please tell me if you think she's becoming one at any point. If you enjoy it, if you don't, if you're somewhere in between, please don't hesitate to leave me a review and tell me! I'd love to hear what you like about it, what you think I could improve on or just that someone actually likes the story. I'll give you a cookie if you do~. Enjoy!

* * *

_"What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from."_

* * *

"Thank you all for watching! I'll be back tomorrow, and I hope to entertain you all again," I called, bidding my audience goodbye with a cheerful, friendly (read: fake) smile. Bowing as they clapped, I quickly retrieved all of my scattered props and belongings and placed them in my backpack. As the crowd that had gathered around the empty area of the amusement park that I like to call my stage began to leave and talk amongst themselves again, I knew that it was my perfect opportunity. I quickly disappeared from my usual spot and snuck into the crowd unnoticed, looking through the large group of faceless for a new victim. My grey eyes landed on one girl in particular, whose purse was large and left hanging open, wallet out in the open as if it was calling to me. As she seemed preoccupied with the conversation she was having, I quickly made my way over, snatching that very wallet and making my escape, unseen due to the ungodly amount of people surrounding me. I made a beeline for an unoccupied bench further away from the swarm of park visitors, plopping down on it with a satisfied smirk on my lips. My eyes searching for the victim of my thievery, I finally located her once again, and noted with amusement that my small crime had gone, once again, unnoticed.

As soon as everyone who had been watching my show was long gone and out of sight, I reopened my large backpack with the intention to look over its contents and take stock, before I was interrupted by an appearance on the bench beside me.

"Cool show, Sky," the pink-haired Cheshire cat complimented, taking a seat next to me as he grinned. "What kind of loot did ya get today?" he questioned, as curious as ever as he looked over at my now opened backpack.

I grinned back; he was among those who knew how I really made my income, and how little of it was actually from the loose change people tossed into my magician's hat. I pulled out two shining pieces of jewelry from the bag, showing them off to him; "The ring off the finger of one of my participants, and the watch from another."

He examined them closely, giving me a thumbs up. "Nice! But you know, it's not nice to steal from unknowing victims~," he teased, and I rolled my eyes.

"Then I probably shouldn't mention the wallet I "found", either. Besides, it's not nice to bring guns to Heart Castle and terrorize the soldiers, either," I retorted, and he gave a sheepish grin as he leaned back on the bench.

"It's fun, though," he whined, scratching the back of his head.

I shrugged. "So is stealing from unknowing victims."

He chuckled and nodded. "You got me there."

"So, I haven't seen you in a while. Where've you been? Is there something out there that's more exciting than watching my shows?" I asked sarcastically, though I was curious as to what _had _been keeping him so busy. Normally, I would at least see him chasing that mouse around if he didn't come to see me, but over the past several time changes, his presence had been scarce.

"Oh, you don't know? There's a new foreigner," he explained, looking over at me. I could practically see the excitement and interest in his eyes, and I almost laughed. He looked so childish and cute when he got excited about things. Though, I was interested; a foreigner? I'd certainly never had the (mis?)fortune of meeting one.

"If you hadn't noticed, I'm not exactly 'in the loop' when it comes to… well, everything," I started, meeting his eyes, "So that's news to me. Who is it?" I asked, genuinely curious about this enigma.

"Her name's Alice," he started with a grin, and I could tell that he was enthralled with her, "And she's really cool. I'd never met a foreigner before."

"Me neither. When can I meet her?" I asked, immediately interested to see what this girl would be like. I knew very little about them, but I recalled my father having mentioned one that he'd met when he was younger.

"Well, she's staying with Blood right now, and I can't really see you walking up to the Hatter's mansion and asking to see her," he joked, and I nodded.

"Not likely. If she's choosing to stay with that asshole, she can't be too smart," I commented, crossing my arms as I leaned back on the bench and looked away. Truly, I couldn't stand the man. Even before the incident, I thought he was an arrogant dick. …Alright, perhaps I also thought he was a little badass, but things change.

"Aww, come on. I get that you don't like him, but Alice isn't bad, I swear," he replied as he stood up from the bench and turned to me. "Anyway, I'm hungry. We should find a food stand!" he suggested, offering his hand to me.

I raised an eyebrow. "Yes, because the cotton candy and hot dogs that the amusement park's food stands sell is absolutely delicious," I replied sarcastically.

"Since when are you a food critic? You take whatever you can get when you don't have money," he replied jokingly, and I grinned.

"Yes, but today I _do_ have money," I retorted, retrieving the stolen wallet from my bag and waving it in front of him, proud grin on my lips. "So let's go to a restaurant for once. Somewhere with fish~," I offered, and I knew from his wide grin and lit up eyes that I had sold him on the idea. I took his still open hand and stood up, walking with him towards the exit of the amusement park.

– xxx –

As we walked, the silence of the forest between the amusement park and the town was broken by our mindless chatter. He complained about the rotten rat that he'd been chasing and spoke kindly about the apparently intriguing new foreigner, while I mentioned my latest pranks, some new magic tricks I'd learned and the suspicious looking badger I'd run into while looking for a place to spend the night. Eventually, we arrived at a good-looking restaurant that we decided to try out. It wasn't particularly busy, and we were seated quickly. While waiting for our food to arrive, our endless chatter picked up again.

"So, April Season is coming up," I mentioned as a red balloon, likely from the amusement park, floated past the window of the restaurant and reminded me.

"Yeah," Boris agreed, not seeming particularly thrilled about it, "Looking forward to it?" he asked, a joking tone to his voice. All considered, I'm sure he expected me not to be. Hell, normally, so would I.

"Actually, sort of. The knife throwing kids from the circus last year convinced me to do some magic shows there this year, and said they wouldn't tell Joker I was there," I replied with a mischievous grin, while I mindlessly tapped my fingers on the table.

"And you believe them?" he asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow at me.

I laughed a bit, shaking my head. "No, not really, but it'll be fun. If Joker shows up, I'll just run away. That's my specialty, you know," I replied with a wink. Most everyone knew that when it came to a fight, I almost always bolted away from the scene. I'm great at tricking, but not so great at fighting. Everyone has their specialities and weaknesses.

He chuckled. "Of course. Sounds like a dangerous plan; I like it~," he commented with a grin, and my own expression was similar as I nodded.

"You're welcome to join me if you want. We can explore the circus and possibly run for our lives together," I offered, my grin widening.

"I'm in," he replied, nodding enthusiastically. Before either of us had a chance to continue our conversation, we were interrupted by the waitress's arrival; Boris's face lit up like a kid's on Christmas when his eyes landed on the fish he had ordered, and I had to admit that I, too, was excited for the meal. All I'd had was amusement park food for the last while, as I hadn't been able to steal anything that got me much cash to pay for big meals.

As we ate, conversation died down to a minimum. It wasn't that we didn't want to talk to each other, but simply that food, as always, was much higher of a priority. After leaving the restaurant, we walked around town for a short time, before afternoon finally shifted into night, and the Cheshire Cat bid me farewell as he returned home to the amusement park. That left me to wander around the town alone, while most of the shops began to close up and the faceless shoppers began to return home.

Walking out of a now closed pawn shop, I grinned as I flipped through the money I'd earned from selling the jewelry I'd acquired earlier. I briefly considered using it to rent a hotel room for the night, but quickly decided against it; thievery is a hit and miss business, after all. Only half the time, if that, was the stolen jewelry worth much or the wallets full of much money, so on successful days like today, it was generally wisest to save it in order to buy food the next day, too. So, instead of sticking around the town, I took in its flickering lights once more before turning and walking down the path to the forest.

– xxx –

For quite a while, I walked along the dirt path through the forest, convinced that I'd arrive back at the tree outside the amusement park that I usually slept in any minute now. However, those minutes added up, and it eventually occurred to me that perhaps, I had managed to get myself lost. It wasn't that I was any bit as bad as that directionally challenged knight I run into on occasion, but I find that the dark has a tendency to make things look different. So different that I somehow managed to walk off the only visible path without noticing, apparently. Well, I never claimed that I was _good _at navigation, either.

It wasn't that I couldn't just sleep in any old tree in the forest, but I liked to tell myself I had standards, that only that one tree could ever live up to. Of course, that wasn't the full reason; that wasn't really even half of the reason. Mainly, what I worried about was the fact that I could be absolutely anywhere at the moment, and there are many places that someone like me really shouldn't be. When you run from your role, there are going to be people who are pretty pissed at you. Obviously, my goal is to successfully avoid them. Staying the night in a tree on those very peoples' property was rarely a good idea.

So, I marched on, determined to find some sort of landmark that would tell me where I was and therefore how I would return; or, perhaps, whether or not I could just collapse and spend the night where I was standing. That seemed like a growingly tempting option, as I felt my eyelids growing heavy and was reminded of how tired I really was. I had barely slept the night before, having been running from an angry faceless who had realized that I had stolen his bag. Sighing, I trudged on, about to simply give up and sink into slumber, when I heard voices approaching in the distance. Distracted by the intent to listen in, I nearly walked into a brick fence seconds later, only realizing that it was there a fraction of a second before I crashed into it. As I strained my neck and stood on my toes to see over it, a wave of dread washed over me; now, I realized where I was.

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_"A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses the moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look forward." - Graham Greene, The End of the Affair_


	2. Interview with a Foreigner

**Author's Note: **I can't believe I already got two reviews in just a couple days!

**To HallowBlue:** Thank you so much for your review! I'm really glad to hear that you don't think she's a Mary Sue, and am thrilled that you're interested in reading more. I hope to keep your interest with this chapter and later ones. ^^

**To Pierce:** Thank you very much for your review! I'm glad you like Skylar! As for what she looks like, I've now posted a picture I drew of her a while back on my profile.

I hope this chapter is alright; I wanted to introduce more characters and have Skylar meet Alice. There will be more about those two soon. Next chapter is mostly going to be about the Amusement Park and its residents, but the one after that (or perhaps the one after _that_) will have the Jokers in it. I'll likely be updating this story once a week, but I wanted to update early this once because I had the chapter finished already and because I was so excited that this already had reviews that I had to post more. As always, _please _review if you liked it! You have no idea how much I appreciate it when people do.

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_"I am sincere, ma petite, even when I lie." - Laurell K. Hamilton_

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I cursed under my breath; of all possible places, why did I have to end up at the Hatter's mansion? Even Heart Castle would've been better. Not only was this the absolute worst place I could be, but the voices that had alerted me of this were growing closer by the second. Careful not to make any sounds, I ducked behind the nearest tree and waited for them to pass.

"Aw, come on, you dumb hare, we were having fun!" a voice complained, and I looked out slightly from behind my hiding place to see that its owner was one of the so-called 'Bloody Twins', who was holding one of the arms of a girl with long, dirty blonde hair and a blue dress who I didn't recognize.

"Yeah! Much more fun than sticking around the gate all day," the other twin agreed. I always had trouble remembering which was which, but I was pretty sure the speaker was Dee.

"I'm not a hare! And you two never do your jobs; stop slacking off! Besides, it's dangerous in the forest at night. Alice could've gotten hurt!" ranted the orange haired rabbit as he glared at the twins, who rolled their eyes. Upon his mention of the name 'Alice', I was immediately interested; so the girl they were with must be the foreigner that Boris had told me about. I leaned as close as I could in order to hear and see better, without revealing my presence.

"We weren't going to let her get hurt, stupid!" the other, who I assumed to be Dum, retorted.

"You two, you really should stop playing around and get to work," the blonde haired foreigner lectured, giving the two a sort of stern look.

"Okay, we will, if you promise that you'll play with us tomorrow!" the red-clad twin offered, turning to face her with pleading eyes.

"I would, but I have to go to the Clock Tower tomorrow. I promised Julius that I'd visit him soon and bring him some more coffee," she replied, and I grinned. Perfect; I'd have a chance to meet her if I caught her early the next day as she was leaving. Then I'd be able to meet her myself, since there would definitely not be a way for that to happen so long as she was on Hatter territory. Now I just had to stick around here without being caught until then.

As they walked further away, all I was able to hear were a few complaints from the twins before they had gone too far for me to distinguish their speech from distant mumbling. As I listened to make sure they were gone, I heard the creaking of the gate being opened, and that same creaking once more as it closed again. I sighed; that meant I was close to the gate, making it all the more risky for me to sleep here while I waited. However, as my eyes were barely staying open, I decided that I was far too tired to find a better spot, and laid down beside the brick fence, finally shutting my grey orbs as I sunk into sweet slumber.

– xxx –

"Hey, brother, who's that over there?" I heard a familiar voice ask, and I cracked one eye open, holding back the urge to yawn. Sure enough, I had been caught; both of the Bloody Twins were now looking in my direction. I muttered a string of curses to myself, pulling myself up from my sleeping position.

"Is it an intruder, do you think? Can we kill her?" Dum asked, and I sent a half-hearted glare their way as they drew closer.

"Oh, it's that rule-breaker girl that boss told us about! Hey, lady, want to play a game of tag with us?" Dee inquired, nearing where I was crouching, and grinned at me in a way that probably should've scared me. I considered their offer briefly; a violent game that ended in bloodshed was always fun, but only if I had the advantage. Eyeing their large battle axes that they held beside them, I decided against it; they were called the Bloody Twins for a reason, so I'd definitely rather live up to my reputation and run like hell.

"Not today, boys," I replied, and as they simultaneously swung their axes at me, I jumped up and dashed into the forest. Breaking into a fast sprint, I ran for what felt like much longer than it was, until I could no longer hear the sound of my pursuers behind me. Though my fighting abilities were lacking, my speed left no room for complaints; well, when my life was at stake, at least. Just to be safe, I kept running for several seconds longer, and as I finally began to slow down, I crashed into another person and fell backwards onto the grass of the forest. I hoped to God that I had already managed to escape Hatter territory, and that it wasn't one of those damned twins that I had the misfortune of running into. I sat up and sighed, prepared for the worst.

And the worst did not come. In fact, my eyes met with a pair of confused and irritated blue ones that belonged to the very girl I had intended to look for.

"Sorry for running into you, I was being chased by some lovely, axe-wielding maniacs that call themselves children, and I didn't see you," I started, offering an apologetic smile to the foreigner as I stood up, offering my hand to her. She took it with an understanding smile, and I helped her up.

"It's no problem, I understand. Are you a new role holder, by any chance?" she asked curiously, brushing any dirt from the fall off of her dress.

"Not new, really, but yeah, I'm a role holder. Of sorts."

"Oh, really? I thought I'd already met everyone…" she trailed off.

"Yeah, well, I doubt any of the others would have told you about me," I answered, and when she raised an eyebrow in confusion, I continued, "It's a long story. Anyway, you're the new foreigner, right?"

She nodded, smiling once more. "Yes, my name is Alice."

"Nice to meet you, Alice. I'm Skylar," I introduced, returning her smile. Normally, I wasn't nearly this friendly, but I was interested; there were so many things I wanted to know about this girl, so it was best to get her to like me. "So, where were you heading before I so rudely ran into you?" I asked, hiding the fact that, like any other creepy stalker, I already knew.

"Oh, I was on my way to the Clock Tower. I said I'd bring this coffee to Julius," she answered, holding up a bag that I assumed contained that very coffee.

I nodded. "I'm heading to the Amusement Park and the Clock Tower's on the way. Mind if I come with you?"

"Not at all," she shook her head, smiling politely at me, and began walking in the direction of the tower.

"Great," I replied, smiling back as I walked alongside her. "So how are you enjoying Wonderland so far?"

"It's…certainly interesting," she started, and I chuckled. "It's very different than where I'm from, that's for sure."

"Oh, is it? What's your home like?" I asked, very curious. I'd never heard anything about the world foreigners come from before, and the prospect of learning more about it was endlessly appealing.

"Well, for one, people don't transform weapons and shoot each other all the time there," she started, and I laughed. "Everyone there has faces, and it's not nearly as violent," Alice continued, and her expression seemed almost nostalgic.

"I see. Everyone has faces? That's definitely different," I started, before glancing over at her. "You seem like you miss it there."

"Hm? Oh, I guess I kind of do," Alice replied, looking away, "But Wonderland has its good points, too."

"Glad to hear that at least you don't hate it here. I'm sure such a big change must've been hard to adjust to."

She nodded in agreement and smiled, before looking up at the clearing of the forest ahead. "Oh, it looks like we're here," she stated, slowing to a stop as we approached the tower, and I nodded.

"Yeah… Well, then I guess that's the end of our meeting."

"You're not coming in?" she asked, turning to look at me.

"Nah, I'm not exactly on good terms with Julius," I replied. Yeah, considering he'd probably try to put me in prison again if I went inside with her. The guy really isn't a fan of rule breakers, not that many people are.

"I see. Well then, I hope to see you again soon! There aren't many female role holders, so it would be nice to have another girl for a friend," the blonde mentioned with a smile.

"Yes, of course! I usually stick around the Amusement Park and do my magic shows, so if you ever want to hang out, just come find me," I offered.

"I'll have to stop by there and visit sometime, then," she began. "I'll see you then!" Alice waved as she walked towards the tower, and I returned the gesture before turning away to follow the path to my destination. As soon as I heard the door open and close behind Alice, the friendly, fake smile dropped from my face and was replaced by a mischievous grin.

She was definitely interesting, I couldn't deny that. But perhaps I only thought that because of the inevitable pull that every role holder felt towards foreigners. Either way, I wanted to learn more about the girl, and the best way to do that was to befriend her, even if every word out of my mouth was only a manipulation used to get more reactions and information out of her. That was my way of doing things, after all. It wasn't that I had any malicious intent, more so that being sneaky was just part of who I was.

I was about halfway to my destination when I was distracted from my thoughts and plans pertaining to the lovely foreigner by a rustling in the bushes in front of some trees. I waited to see what or who it was and whether or not I should run, and the source of the rustling soon made itself known; the brown-haired knight pushed through the tall plants. Upon seeing me, he grinned ear to ear.

"Hey there Skylar! Haven't seen you in a while," he greeted, waving at me. I waved back, rolling my eyes at the comment.

"Ace, I saw you less than three time changes ago when you got lost on the way to the castle. Again," I replied, an unimpressed expression adorning my face.

He laughed his signature loud, booming laugh. "Well, I guess that's true, huh? Speaking of which, do you have any idea which way the Clock Tower is?"

"Shocking, you're lost again," I started sarcastically, "But yeah, it's that way." I pointed in the direction of the Hatter's mansion, smirking inwardly; he was going to get lost no matter where I pointed, so why not screw him up more?

He grinned once more. "Thanks, Sky! I'll see you later!" he responded, waving once more before he took off. I waved back, letting a small, amused smile tug at my lips as I watched him leave. He was the only member of Heart Castle that didn't have any intention of beheading me, shooting me or throwing me in prison. That had to earn him some points with me; besides, his cheerful attitude always had a tendency to rub off on me.

I continued on my way, walking, uninterrupted, down the empty, dirt path to the Amusement Park. I let my mind wander as I continued on, and was lost in own daydreams until the sounds of the park caught my attention. I smiled; although I often wandered between territories, the park was as much my home as any. The crowds, sounds, food, rides, all of it; it all made me feel as 'at peace' as I ever did. My smile widened as I walked through the entrance, sneaking past the ticket booth and managing to avoid paying as I usually did.

As I marched through the masses of park visitors, my eyes landed on the pink-haired Cheshire Cat that was making his way over to me, and I grinned at him and waved in greeting. He waved back and just as he had almost reached me, something caught his eye; when I turned to look at what had stolen his attention, I only shook my head. It was Pierce, and I knew what that meant; the dormouse took off like a bat out of hell, and the cat followed suit within a second. I only laughed, not surprised at all by the turn of events.

After buying and eating a hot dog from one of the park's food stands, I made my way over to my usual 'stage'. I did need to make a living, after all. Pulling my backpack off my shoulders, I unzipped it and pulled out my magician's top hat, setting it on the ground for the loose change my audience usually tossed in. Leaving it open for easy access in the coming show, I brushed any dirt off of my clothes and straightened up. As I turned to the passing crowds, I opened my arms, and my following words captured the attention of most of my usual audience; "Come one, come all, to today's magic show!"

"And ya know what would make your show even better? Some music!" called the park owner, appearing out of nowhere and pulling out his widely hated violin.

"NO!"

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_"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." - Roald Dahl_


End file.
